She couldn't picture it
by FirefliesUnite
Summary: Klaus needs to tell Camille something, but Camille wants to tell him something first. This just might go the way they both want it to... or not.


So not him…

'Listen I've been meaning to talk to you…' When Klaus started his sentences like this it was always bad news.

'What happened?' Came Camille's reflex reaction. She stared at her friend whose mouth hung open, he clearly hadn't finished his sentence. 'Sorry,' she hurried to add. 'Usually when you say that you want to vent. I kind of preemptively cut you off. I'm sorry.'

'No, it's fine.' Klaus made that trademark benevolent gesture with that trademark angelic smile that would have worried anyone who wasn't under his compulsion. Unfortunately for Camille, she had been his pet project for months now. An interactive blackboard of sorts, a slate he could wipe clean and rewrite as he pleased. It was strange then that Klaus had grown attached to this girl, this troubled young woman whose company he seemed to crave more and more for her person and less because he could make her compliant.

'On the off-chance of sounding selfish, I'd like to get my piece out of the way first, that way I can focus on your entirely afterwards.' Her smile was true and warm. Caring, was the word Klaus thought of most often as he tried to return that quirk of the mouth, the tug of the muscles that he had used as a weapon of deception over the years, not an expression of happiness.

'Of course.' He nodded leading her away from the tumultuous New Orleans crowds that had cramped into the makeshift Christmas market the townspeople had created. It neither resembled a Christmas market, nor was it Christmas themed, it actually seemed like any other day except with booze and chocolate being sold in the streets instead of bars, voodoo puppets and all kinds of ingredients for witchcraft traded for a glass of mulled wine, that was basically just heated alcohol. No matter, the people were having fun. There was a sense of cheer in the air, as if life was going to turn out fine. After the numerous killings, murders, clashes between gangs of the natural and the supernatural world this relief, however fake, was more than welcome.

'What's on your mind love.' He said out of habit, catching himself in the act, flashing her a quick glance to see if she had picked up on anything. But Camille was too busy brushing multicolored straws, empty cans of drinks and confetti from the bench they had picked to realize that Klaus's casual expressions of affection had started to have deeper meaning. From the moment he felt a deeper connection to his forced listener, Klaus had started enjoying veiling his emotions behind casual quips. 'Of course, love.' 'Whatever you need, sweetheart.' It was very much like him to take a fancy for someone he couldn't have, yet very unlike him to not start courting them instantly. For weeks now he had pictured simply telling Camille about his feelings instead of trying to woe her. With the security of his mind compulsion as a backup plan in case he was rejected the idea slowly became a plan, a plan that would come to fruition tonight. He observed the girl as she sat down, oblivious to how his eyes ran over her body, devoured her, teased the clothes off her, imagination going further and further until Camille's voice called him back to reality.

'Are you listening? Sit down.'

'Right, right.' He said and plastered a smile on his face, feeling that warm fuzzy feeling rise, the beginning of a truly felt laughter that bubbled to the surface whenever he was with her.

'What did you want to tell me, love?' He asked, toying with the word, letting it roll off his tongue and fall into plain sight of this woman he actually cared for.

'Alright so, I guess there is no reason for beating around the bush. I've been going out with Marcel for a while and, we've been getting closer… so I'm telling you first that we have decided to be a couple. Officially I mean.'

There it was. That sparkle in her eyes, that joy, that smile, that pumping of her heart that betrayed nothing but utter happiness. Klaus's smile stayed in place, he had had centuries to control his body from even flinching when a certain news hit him hard. This however, didn't just hit him hard. It devastated him.

'I'm sure you'll be very happy.' He said calmly, quietly, still smiling before leaning back on the bench and looking the other way. Camille felt a chill run down her spine, a feeling she never had around Klaus. Yet in moments like this one… It was moments like this one, where he would turn away, petulant and angry, trying to hide a blackness that crept into his eyes. It was the darkness in those eyes that made Camille think that right now Klaus looked like he could kill someone. He seemed so sweet, so genuine, so broken, she just couldn't picture it.

'Thank you.' She said just as quietly, feeling that something had gone wrong, very very wrong.

'So what was your news?' She tried lighting the mood and he turned back to her, a controlled motion, a calculated shifting of his muscles, a set expression on his face.

'Well I wanted to tell you that I fancied you but now I think I'd rather go snap Marcel's neck.' His voice was sweet and dripped with venom.

'Klaus…' Camille mumbled. 'What are you… talking about?'

'Ah yes, let's get the pesky memories out of the way, shall we _love_?'

The word hurt. Too much. He grabbed her head, more brutally than he needed to as he pulled her closer, plunging his eyes into hers, forcing his control over her mind, wiping away her memories. Not everything, only the last few seconds.

'Klaus?' Camille could have sworn he was here just a second ago. Then again it seemed to happen a lot that she just spaced out and missed the moment he left. _Odd_, she thought, _I think he wanted to tell me something…_


End file.
